Despite the Caesars Superdome being a relatively antiseptic environment, New Orleans has remained a staple of the College Football Playoff rotation thanks in large part to the ambiance of the city.
That includes Bourbon Street, which ESPN decided to showcase throughout a commercial bumper during the playoff semifinal Sugar Bowl matchup between Washington and Texas on Monday night.
The only problem? Bourbon Street is famously known as a place where women will flash their breasts in exchange for necklace beads. And that’s exactly what happened during the bumper, resulting in a bare boob being on display during ESPN’s broadcast. You can see the clip here.
After the clip of ESPN’s ill-timed shot — which came during an ad read for Modelo — went viral, “The Worldwide Leader” issued an apology regarding the matter.
“We regret that this happened and apologize that the video aired in the telecast,” ESPN Sr. Director of Communications Bill Hofheimer said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Obviously this was an honest mistake on somebody’s end, but it’s still surprising that someone at ESPN didn’t think better of doing a live shot from Bourbon Street, especially late at night. If you walk down Bourbon Street after 10 p.m., there’s a good chance you’re going to see some boobs, which is something that ESPN clearly didn’t consider more closely on Monday night.
This isn’t the first time ESPN has accidentally aired nudity on its airwaves and it likely won’t be the last. But one would imagine that the next time ESPN airs a game from the Big Easy, it will pre-tape its footage from around the city (or at least focus on an area not well known for women showing their breasts).
The good news? Whatever Modelo paid for the ad that aired during the incident, it certainly got its bang for its buck.
